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How to Meditate

How to Meditate By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya The basic process of meditation is found, in one form or another, in many of the world s diverse religious

Message 1 of 3
, Dec 17 2:36 PM

How to Meditate

By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

"The basic process of meditation is found, in one form or another, in many of the world's diverse religious traditions. All authentic spiritual paths agree that the way to attain true and lasting happiness is to come to a deep and substantial knowledge of oneself and one's place in the world. The only way to know one's inner self is by means of the science of meditation. As the most ancient and systematic spiritual tradition known to humanity, the process of meditation is found in its fullest form in the Yoga system of the Sanatana Dharma tradition...."

Please forward this information to all sincere spiritual seekers. Feel free to publish the entire article on your website, blog, Facebook or social site.

Aum Tat Sat

medit8ionsociety

By Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche The practice of mindfulness/awareness meditation is common to all Buddhist traditions. Beyond that, it is common to, inherent in,

Message 2 of 3
, Oct 12, 2014

By Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

The
practice of mindfulness/awareness meditation is common to all Buddhist
traditions. Beyond that, it is common to, inherent in, all human beings.

In
meditation we are continuously discovering who and what we are. That could be
quite frightening or quite boring, but after a while, all that slips away. We
get into some kind of natural rhythm and begin to discover our basic mind and
heart.

Often
we think about meditation as some kind of unusual, holy or spiritual activity.
As we practice that is one of the basic beliefs we try to overcome. The point
is that meditation is completely normal: it is the mindful quality present in
everything we do.

The
main thing the Buddha discovered was that he could be himself– one hundred
percent, completely. He did not invent meditation; there was nothing
particularly to invent. The Buddha, "the awakened one," woke up and
realized that he did not have to try to be something other than what he was. So
the complete teaching of Buddhism is how to rediscover who we are.

That
is a straightforward principle, but we are continuously distracted from coming
to our natural state, our natural being. Throughout our day everything pulls us
away from natural mindfulness, from being on the spot. We're either too scared
or too embarrassed or too proud, or just too crazy, to be who we are.

This
is what we call the journey or the path: continuously trying to recognize that
we can actually relax and be who we are. So practicing meditation begins by
simplifying everything. We sit on the cushion, follow our breath and watch our
thoughts. We simplify our whole situation.

Mindfulness/awareness
meditation, sitting meditation, is the foundation of this particular journey.
Unless we are able to deal with our mind and body in a very simple way, it is impossible
to think about doing high-level practices. How the Buddha himself, having done
all kinds of practices, became the Buddha, was simply to sit. He sat under a
tree and he did not move. He practiced exactly as we are practicing.

What
we're doing is taming our mind. We're trying to overcome all sorts of anxieties
and agitation, all sorts of habitual thought patterns, so we are able to sit
with ourselves. Life is difficult, we may have tremendous responsibilities, but
the odd thing, the twisted logic, is that the way we relate to the basic flow
of our life is to sit completely still. It might seem more logical to speed up,
but here we are reducing everything to a very basic level.

How
we tame the mind is by using the technique of mindfulness. Quite simply,
mindfulness is compete attention to detail. We are completely absorbed in the
fabric of life, the fabric of the moment. We realize that our life is made of
these moments and that we cannot deal with more than one moment at a time. Even
though we have memories of the past and ideas about the future, it is the
present situation that we are experiencing.

Thus
we are able to experience our life fully. We might feel that thinking about the
past or the future makes our life richer, but by not paying attention to the
immediate situation we are actually missing our life. There's nothing we can do
about the past, we can only go over it again and again, and the future is
completely unknown.

So
the practice of mindfulness is the practice of being alive. When we talk about
the techniques of meditation, we're talking about techniques of life. We're not
talking about something that is separate from us. When we're talking about
being mindful and living in a mindful way, we're talking about the practice of
spontaneity.

It's
important to understand that we're not talking about trying to get into some
kind of higher level or higher state of mind. We are not saying that our
immediate situation is unworthy. What we're saying is that the present
situation is completely available and unbiased, and that we can see it that way
through the practice of mindfulness.

At
this point we can go through the actual form of the practice. First, it is
important how we relate with the room and the cushion where we will practice.
One should relate with where one is sitting as the center of the world, the
center of the universe. It is where we are proclaiming our sanity, and when we
sit down the cushion should be like a throne.

When
we sit, we sit with some kind of pride and dignity. Our legs are crossed,
shoulders relaxed. We have a sense of what is above, a sense that something is
pulling us up the same time we have a sense of ground. The arms should rest
comfortably on the thighs. Those who cannot sit down on a cushion can sit in a
chair. The main point is to be somewhat comfortable.

The
chin is tucked slightly in, the gaze is softly focusing downward about four to
six feet in front, and the mouth should be open a little. The basic feeling is
one of comfort, dignity and confidence. If you feel you need to move, you
should just move, just change your posture a little bit. So that is how we
relate with the body.

And
then the next part– actually the simple part– is relating with the mind. The
basic technique is that we begin to notice our breath, we have a sense of our
breath. The breath is what we're using as the basis of our mindfulness
technique; it brings us back to the moment, back to the present situation. The
breath is something that is constant– otherwise it's too late.

We
put the emphasis on the outbreath. We don't accentuate or alter the breath at
all, just notice it. So we notice our breath going out, and when we breathe in
there is just a momentary gap, a space. There are all kinds of meditation
techniques and this is actually a more advanced one. We're learning how to
focus on our breath, while at the same time giving some kind of space to the
technique.

Then
we realize that, even though what we're doing is quite simple, we have a
tremendous number of ideas, thoughts and concepts– about life and about the
practice itself. And the way we deal with all these thoughts is simply by
labeling them. We just note to ourselves that we're thinking, and return to
following the breath.

So
if we wonder what we're going to do for the rest of our life, we simply label
it thinking. If we wonder what we're going to have for lunch, simply label it
thinking. Anything that comes up, we gently acknowledge it and let it go.

There
are no exceptions to this technique; there are no good thoughts and no bad
thoughts. If you're thinking how wonderful meditation is, then that is still
thinking. How great the Buddha was, that's still thinking. If you feel like
killing the person next to you, just label it thinking. No matter what extreme
you go to, it's just thinking, and come back to the breath.

In
the face of all these thoughts it is difficult to be in the moment and not be
swayed. Our life has created a barrage of different storms, elements and
emotions that are trying to unseat us, destabilize us. All sorts of things come
up, but they are labeled thoughts, and we are not drawn away. That is known as
holding our seat, just dealing with ourselves.

The
idea of holding our seat continues when we leave the meditation room and go
about our lives. We maintain our dignity and humor and the same lightness of
touch we use in dealing with our thoughts. Holding our seat doesn't mean we are
stiff and trying to become like rocks; the whole idea is learning how to be
flexible. The way that we deal with ourselves and our thoughts is the same way
that we deal with the world.

When
we begin to meditate, the first thing we realize is how wild things are– how
wild our mind is, how wild our life is. But once we begin to have the quality
of being tamed, when we can sit with ourselves, we realize there's a vast
wealth of possibility that lies in front of us. Meditation is looking at our
own back yard, you could say, looking at what we really have and discovering
the richness that already exists. Discovering that richness is a moment to
moment process, and as we continue to practice our awareness becomes sharper
and sharper.

This
mindfulness actually envelops our whole life. It is the best way to appreciate
our world, to appreciate the sacredness of everything. We add mindfulness and
all of a sudden the whole situation becomes alive. This practice soaks into
everything that we do; there's nothing left out. Mindfulness pervades sound and
space. It is a complete experience.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche has received extensive and profound instruction in
the Buddhist and Shambhala teachings. He has served as President of Shambhala
International. http://www.shambhala.org/

medit8ionsociety

The practice of mindfulness/awareness meditation is common to all Buddhist traditions. Beyond that, it is common to, inherent in, all human beings. In

Message 3 of 3
, Nov 24, 2015

The
practice of mindfulness/awareness meditation is common to all Buddhist
traditions. Beyond that, it is common to, inherent in, all human beings.

In
meditation we are continuously discovering who and what we are. That could be
quite frightening or quite boring, but after a while, all that slips away. We
get into some kind of natural rhythm and begin to discover our basic mind and
heart.

Often
we think about meditation as some kind of unusual, holy or spiritual activity.
As we practice that is one of the basic beliefs we try to overcome. The point
is that meditation is completely normal: it is the mindful quality present in
everything we do.

The
main thing the Buddha discovered was that he could be himself– one hundred
percent, completely. He did not invent meditation; there was nothing
particularly to invent. The Buddha, "the awakened one," woke up and
realized that he did not have to try to be something other than what he was. So
the complete teaching of Buddhism is how to rediscover who we are.

That
is a straightforward principle, but we are continuously distracted from coming
to our natural state, our natural being. Throughout our day everything pulls us
away from natural mindfulness, from being on the spot. We're either too scared
or too embarrassed or too proud, or just too crazy, to be who we are.

This
is what we call the journey or the path: continuously trying to recognize that
we can actually relax and be who we are. So practicing meditation begins by
simplifying everything. We sit on the cushion, follow our breath and watch our
thoughts. We simplify our whole situation.

Mindfulness/awareness
meditation, sitting meditation, is the foundation of this particular journey.
Unless we are able to deal with our mind and body in a very simple way, it is impossible
to think about doing high-level practices. How the Buddha himself, having done
all kinds of practices, became the Buddha, was simply to sit. He sat under a
tree and he did not move. He practiced exactly as we are practicing.

What
we're doing is taming our mind. We're trying to overcome all sorts of anxieties
and agitation, all sorts of habitual thought patterns, so we are able to sit
with ourselves. Life is difficult, we may have tremendous responsibilities, but
the odd thing, the twisted logic, is that the way we relate to the basic flow
of our life is to sit completely still. It might seem more logical to speed up,
but here we are reducing everything to a very basic level.

How we
tame the mind is by using the technique of mindfulness. Quite simply,
mindfulness is compete attention to detail. We are completely absorbed in the
fabric of life, the fabric of the moment. We realize that our life is made of
these moments and that we cannot deal with more than one moment at a time. Even
though we have memories of the past and ideas about the future, it is the
present situation that we are experiencing.

Thus
we are able to experience our life fully. We might feel that thinking about the
past or the future makes our life richer, but by not paying attention to the
immediate situation we are actually missing our life. There's nothing we can do
about the past, we can only go over it again and again, and the future is
completely unknown.

So the
practice of mindfulness is the practice of being alive. When we talk about the
techniques of meditation, we're talking about techniques of life. We're not
talking about something that is separate from us. When we're talking about
being mindful and living in a mindful way, we're talking about the practice of
spontaneity.

It's
important to understand that we're not talking about trying to get into some
kind of higher level or higher state of mind. We are not saying that our
immediate situation is unworthy. What we're saying is that the present
situation is completely available and unbiased, and that we can see it that way
through the practice of mindfulness.

At
this point we can go through the actual form of the practice. First, it is
important how we relate with the room and the cushion where we will practice.
One should relate with where one is sitting as the center of the world, the
center of the universe. It is where we are proclaiming our sanity, and when we
sit down the cushion should be like a throne.

When
we sit, we sit with some kind of pride and dignity. Our legs are crossed,
shoulders relaxed. We have a sense of what is above, a sense that something is
pulling us up the same time we have a sense of ground. The arms should rest
comfortably on the thighs. Those who cannot sit down on a cushion can sit in a
chair. The main point is to be somewhat comfortable.

The
chin is tucked slightly in, the gaze is softly focusing downward about four to
six feet in front, and the mouth should be open a little. The basic feeling is
one of comfort, dignity and confidence. If you feel you need to move, you
should just move, just change your posture a little bit. So that is how we
relate with the body.

And
then the next part– actually the simple part– is relating with the mind. The
basic technique is that we begin to notice our breath, we have a sense of our
breath. The breath is what we're using as the basis of our mindfulness
technique; it brings us back to the moment, back to the present situation. The
breath is something that is constant– otherwise it's too late.

We put
the emphasis on the outbreath. We don't accentuate or alter the breath at all,
just notice it. So we notice our breath going out, and when we breathe in there
is just a momentary gap, a space. There are all kinds of meditation techniques
and this is actually a more advanced one. We're learning how to focus on our
breath, while at the same time giving some kind of space to the technique.

Then
we realize that, even though what we're doing is quite simple, we have a
tremendous number of ideas, thoughts and concepts– about life and about the
practice itself. And the way we deal with all these thoughts is simply by
labeling them. We just note to ourselves that we're thinking, and return to
following the breath.

So if
we wonder what we're going to do for the rest of our life, we simply label it
thinking. If we wonder what we're going to have for lunch, simply label it
thinking. Anything that comes up, we gently acknowledge it and let it go.

There
are no exceptions to this technique; there are no good thoughts and no bad
thoughts. If you're thinking how wonderful meditation is, then that is still
thinking. How great the Buddha was, that's still thinking. If you feel like
killing the person next to you, just label it thinking. No matter what extreme
you go to, it's just thinking, and come back to the breath.

In the
face of all these thoughts it is difficult to be in the moment and not be
swayed. Our life has created a barrage of different storms, elements and
emotions that are trying to unseat us, destabilize us. All sorts of things come
up, but they are labeled thoughts, and we are not drawn away. That is known as
holding our seat, just dealing with ourselves.

The
idea of holding our seat continues when we leave the meditation room and go
about our lives. We maintain our dignity and humor and the same lightness of
touch we use in dealing with our thoughts. Holding our seat doesn't mean we are
stiff and trying to become like rocks; the whole idea is learning how to be
flexible. The way that we deal with ourselves and our thoughts is the same way
that we deal with the world.

When
we begin to meditate, the first thing we realize is how wild things are– how
wild our mind is, how wild our life is. But once we begin to have the quality
of being tamed, when we can sit with ourselves, we realize there's a vast
wealth of possibility that lies in front of us. Meditation is looking at our
own back yard, you could say, looking at what we really have and discovering
the richness that already exists. Discovering that richness is a moment to
moment process, and as we continue to practice our awareness becomes sharper
and sharper.

This
mindfulness actually envelops our whole life. It is the best way to appreciate
our world, to appreciate the sacredness of everything. We add mindfulness and
all of a sudden the whole situation becomes alive. This practice soaks into
everything that we do; there's nothing left out. Mindfulness pervades sound and
space. It is a complete experience.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche has received extensive and profound instruction in
the Buddhist and Shambhala teachings. He is the President of Shambhala
International. http://www.shambhala.org/

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